---
# System prepended metadata

title: Traveler's Tome GDD

---

# (Traveler's Tome) GDD
---
### Table of contents
```
Nackanäs High Concept
Story Overview
Gameplay Overview
Game controls
Game Mechanics
Technological requirements
Proposed tools for gameplay
Proposed tools for cheats
Front end of the game
Cutscene description
Attract mode for hostile NPCs
Title and Start Screen
```
---
## Nackanäs High Concept

Nackanäs is a single-player story-driven adventure that takes place in the land of (world name). In a land of decay and ruin derived from remnants of a fallen kingdom, a hero arises to bring prosperity to the once-thriving lands of (world name). Take on the forces of chaos as an ever-evolving adventurer who came from lands afar, gathering people and resources to aid in your quest to end the terror that plagues the lands.

---
## Story Overview
```
- Add lore book for character and overworked regions

overview— remember to keep this short and frame it in the context of
the gameplay. This includes:
Set up — how does the player start the game?
Locations and how they relate to the narrative — how does the player get
from one location to the next?
Finale — what is the ending? What is the player expected to be/have done
by the end of the game?
```
---
## Gameplay Overview

### Start up:
Double-click desktop shortcut to run the program.
Once game is running, press any key on the input device (this includes but is not limited to desktop keyboard + mouse, console controllers.)

---
### Loading screen

The loading screen consists of splash art and 3D models of encountered NPCs, with small sections of lore explained at the bottom of the screen. At the bottom right, an animated icon will be shown to showcase that game is indeed loading.

---
### Game camera(s)

- The camera will be primarily 3rd person with on-rails & locked camera shots held for specific cutscenes or important events. This will be done to allow the player to see their own character & to give a better vision for avoiding obstacles. When encountering problems developers will have access to debug tools in order to check the camera position & will be able to check its position logs to see where a fault may have occurred.

---
### HUD system

- A Hotbar for equipped items
- A Health bar with complimentary icons for available weapons, ammunition and magic stamina (mana).
- A coin counter to track your characters' wealth.

---
### Player character selections and interactions

Character name:
Players will be able to create a custom name, but there will be some default names available if players cannot decide or prefer to play with original names for characters.

According to player customisation:
- The player will be able to change their character height within a reasonable margin for their selected race. Certain races perform better in different environments and would be limited in the size they can be modified to.
- The player has access to the following movement options (walk, run, sneak, roll, Jump)
- When the player is within reasonable distance of a ladder, door or chest, the player will be granted an interact option to climb, or open the object.
- When the player is carrying too much grear or is greatly injured, the player's actions will be slowed to match the toll 


### Description of basic skills

These would be different depending on what items our player would find & utilise within the world.

### List of skill upgrades

Below is a list of skills obtainable from obtaining special weapons available throughout the world

```
• TBD
• TBD
• TBD
• TBD
• TBD
• TBD
• TBD
```
### List of buffs/De Buffs & Powerups/state modifiers

Curse of the sloth (slowness) (Duration=Weapon Dependant)
Curse of fatigue  (Duration & Strength, Dependant on ammount of items in inventory)
Swift Step (Stanima Up, Faster Movement) (Duration=Equipment Dependant)

---
### Health mechanics
```
Health (general)
• HUD display
• How to replenish health
• Power- ups and health items
• Warning for player when health is low
Alternate states (stunned, poisoned, turned into a baby)
• Controls
• Show examples and metrics
Lives (if applicable)
• How are lives earned?
• How are lives lost?
• What happens when you run out of lives?
Death
• Instant death conditions — (combat, fire, drowning, and so on)
• Game over conditions:
—Penalty for dying
—Game over screen (show image of game over screen)
Checkpoints
• Continue system

```
---
### Rewards and economy
Coin based currency system (Gold, Copper. Silver)
Faction based rare currency (Purified Jems)

• Shopping interface's
- The Bartender
- Traveling merchant
- Blacksmith

---
### Vehicles

- Vehicles will include standard fantasy mounts such as horses that can be obtained as wild animals that can be tamed over time.
---
### Major characters & creatures
- The Adventurer (player)
- The Ravenous
- The Nackanäs(Skeleton knights)
- Ghouls
- Frog Warriors
- The Nackanäs King (Based on the IKEA round table)
- Fire flyers
---
### Game progression outline

Overview of all game levels — insert game beat chart here. Remember to:
• Include story beats to show how gameplay and story intertwine
• Indicate if story beat is a cutscene or in game
Indicate progression/reward elements for the player
• Show where new skills, abilities, weapons, and collectibles are
earned in relation to the story
each level will correspond with the boss thats inside that areana which would be chosen by the player controlling the boss and all players would have a brief overlay showing there character and what items they have chosen this overlay would return layter with showing there progression. 

---
### Gameplay classifications
Gameplay type:

All of the gameplay revolves around single player questing, urging the player to progress at their own pace. The player may break off of the set quest path to explore the world and find bouns locations and items.

---

### Locations and Navigation:
The player controls an available playable character and will have the opportunity of exploring the lands of (world name), engage with the remaining residents living in the outskirts of the overrun city and collecting resources or weapons that could aid in their journey.

The player will be aiming to progress through the various regions of (world name), with each region having its respective fauna, enemies and indigenous resources that the player can interact with. By progressing in the game, the player will have more opportunities to fight progressively more powerful variations of hostiles. Each region will provide its own unique quests, residents that the player can aid and bounties on dangerous enemies that can be claimed.

Certain regions such as the castle where the (King name) resides and Darkroot forest naturally spawn more dangerous enemies, but a game director will scale all enemies according to the progression of the player so there is a constant difficulty progression.

### Places of interest
The Castle (Grand + world name) is situated within dangerous mountainous terrain and is guarded by the Knights of Nockanäs and the Ravenous that patrol the castles' surrounding area to feed on the life sources of other beings.

The Darkroot forest accommodates various wildlife as well as magic wielding enemies that could boost the arsenal of those who risk entering the ever moving forest. The trees are known to move, changing orientation and hindering any efforts of navigating out of the forest. Once in the forest, the player is affected by a hex preventing them from escaping and this can only be resolved with the help of a wizarding friend.

The villages of (world name) that populate the outskirts of (High + world name) will provide an opportunity to complete quests that provide important knowledge and loot, as well as providing a safe space that travellers can reside in.

Adventurers/Raiders camps are littered around the region of (world name) and can either be abandoned or housing small groups of neutral or hostile habitants. These can provide a good source of collectibles and resources.

Ruins of neglected buildings and once prosperous towns can be found around (world name), providing an opportunity to find valuable heirlooms and once lost treasure waiting to be reclaimed by those worthy enough to find them.

---
### Game controls

#### Keyboard
W - Run Forward
S - Run Backward
D - Run Right
A - Run Left
Left Control (hold + movement) - Walk

Camera

I - Move Forward (up)
K - Move Backward (down)
L - Move Right
J - Move Left
O - Lock Target on-off / Reset camera

Switch Equipment

V - Switch Right weapon
C - Switch Left weapon
F - Switch Item
R - Switch Magic

Actions

H - Right Weapon Action (attack) / Range attack, uses left slot ammo (attack)
U - Right Weapon Action (heavy attack) / Range attack, uses right slot ammo (attack)
Left Shift - Left Weapon Action (block)
Tab - Left Weapon Action (parry/bash)
E - Use Item
Space - Dash (hold + movement) / Roll (tap + movement) / Backstep (tap)
Q - Action / Gesture (hold)
Left Alt - Toggle one-hand / two-hand grip

Menu Display

END - Open Start Menu
G - Open Gesture Menu

Menu Control

Up Arrow - Select (up)
Down Arrow - Select (down)
Left Arrow - Select (left)
Right Arrow - Select (right)
Enter - Confirm
Backspace - Cancel
Insert - Menu Function 1: Switch Status, etc.
Delete - Menu Function 2: Toggle Display, Remove Equip, etc.
Page Up - Switch Menu (right)
Page Down - Switch Menu (left)

#### Controller

Left Stick: Player Controls.
Right Stick: Camera Controls.
D-pad:
Up: Select magic
Down: Select quick item
Left: Swap Left hand weapon.
Right: Swap Right hand weapon.
Δ: Two-hand equipped weapon.
X: Action.
Π: Use selected item.
O:
Tap O: Backstep/ Dodge roll
Slide down ladder: Stop moving, Hold O ->
Left Stick + Tap O: Roll.
Left Stick + Hold O: Run/Dash.
While Running + Tap O: Jump.
R1: Attack.
Forward + R1: Kick. (Guard Break)
While falling + R1: Takedown.
Behind Foe + R1: Backstab (weapon).
Tap O + Double Tap R1: Dash Attack
R2: Heavy Attack.
Forward + R2: Jumping Attack.
L1: Guard (shield), Attack (weapon, catalyst).
L2: Parry (small shield), Bash (large shield), Parry (weapon).
After successful Parry: R1 to riposte.
R3: Target lock/release.
Swap target by moving the Right Stick. Move it in the direction of the preferred target, from its current position.
Zooming With a bow: When a Bow is Equipped with two hands hit the L1: button to zoom. With the Hawk Ring the bow will have more range and damage.
On ladder:
O: Slide down.
R1: Upward punch.
R2: Downward kick.
Select: Gestures.
Alternatively, you can hold the X button and use the Six-Axis controls of the PS3 controller. These motions are shown in the Gestures menu.
Start: Menu.

---

### Game Mechanics

#### Day/ Night
A day and night cycle is necessary for providing an immersive experience and for new opportunities to arise. Certain enemies and completion requirements for quests can only be done during certain in game hours. A complete day and night cycle lasts 50 minutes. This would provide the player with enough time to complete activities at certain hours, whilst also not taking up too much time in the real world.

Certain quest lines may require the player to return after a certain amount of time, which would require the player to return after a full timed cycle has taken place.

#### Karma mechanics
A karma rating that provides the player with a sense of morality while playing the game. Actions taken upon specific factions and interactions towards NPCs may provide the player with good or bad karma. Depending on their rating, the player may become unable to engage with certain NPCs, some quest lines may become uncompletable and some equipment or resources cannot be bought from vendors around the map.

#### Factions
There are a number of faction groups, pertaining to the biomes and various locations of the map. These factions have a certain fondness and aversion to the other factions that co-exist within (world name).

- Undead: A collective faction of skeletons, ghouls and mobs infected by the Ravenous sludge. The Undead King, which serves as the main antagonist of the game as a boss. The King is associated with the undead faction and controls the Ravenous that traverse the lands.
- The Knights of Nockanäs: A once valued and worshipped sect of the King's protection, they have
- The Ravenous: A dark, viscous sludge that houses unintelligible figures that search their surroundings for pure life sources they can take over and infect.
- Frogs Warriors: An endangered but deadly group of highly trained humanoid frogs capable of camouflaging themselves, masking their scent and moving silently amongst the Darkroot Forest.
- Halfbreeds exist as a collective of multi-race beings that exist all across the region, scattered around the map. The most notable halfbreeds are:
    - Elvish centaurs (half elf, half horse)

---

### Technological requirements

RECOMMENDED:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
Processor: Intel i7
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: RTX 2060 3GB or equivalent.
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 52 GB available space

- Game will use a camera that will sit behind the character model to provide the third person perspective element for the adventurer. Physics will be applied to NPCs, character controlled models, furnishing models and loot chests.

- The furnishing models will be 3D modelled and used as decoration throughout the land

### Proposed tools for gameplay

• Camera will be rigged the main playable character model, acting as a third person camera for the adventurer.
• Simple gravity physics will be implemented for furnishings on the map such as clay pots, chests etc. These will also be applied to the adventurer in the open world.

• Certain items may have properties that allow them to become damaged by players, mobs or environmental destruction caused by the various enemy types which will be implemented by the programmer.
• The character model data will be hard coded into the game to prevent theft of assets and to maintain consistency across all copies of the game.

• Scripting system: Using C++, we will script all of the necessary commands for combat, movement, destruction of environmental assets, enemies spawning and dying.

### Proposed tools for cheats
There will not be a cheat menu available for players as it provides the player with the ability to unfairly progress and potentially break game and the various story plot points that occur.
However, a debug menu will be available within the game to aid game developers with testing imported assets, character AI and potentially fix any ongoing issues that could occur such as spawning mechanics.

•A debug menu is vital for potentially implementing expansions for the game, providing an opportunity to add DLCs that could include expansive regions, enemies and unique weapons/resources that may be added to the game in the future.

The cheats that will be included for developer use:
•Invincibility
•Immunity to effects/limitations such as the Hex of the Forest preventing fast travel without the quest item
•Free camera mode cheat
•Full health stat cheat
•Full in game currency cheat

---
### Front end of the game

Indicate what credit screens will be shown when game is first turned on
including:
• Publisher - FromSoftware Inc.
• Studio name: Traveler's Tome
![](Image of logo here)

---

• Licensors - FromSoftware Inc.
• Third party software manufacturers
• Legal screen - Rights of the consumers, what they cannot do
Players will be shown the following text on a Legal screen when the program begins to run.

© 2023 FromSoftware Inc. All rights reserved.

Warning: Game may present issues for people with visual impairments.

---
### Cutscene description

The adventurer is running into the castle through a broken wall, The camera follows them with the undead knights spilling out to chase alongside ghouls that are following not far behind. Being guided up the stairs into the main throne room & as they enter the camera stays low to the ground and stops at the character's feet. The camera pans up to show the undead king's soul plunging into his armour as the cracks in his armour light up a teal green. He stands up as the camera zooms out at a low angle as he rips off his lower face mask, showing off a rotting maw roaring with the camera. The camera then follows the mask as it falls to the ground. His weapon appears behind him & he draws it from his back. The camera switches to show the main character & pans between the king and the heroes as they run forward to clash swords.

---
### Attract mode for hostile NPCs

The game always runs in real-time. If the player opens a menu, the world around them will sstay active. There will be key locations within the world that are considered to be "safe spaces" but ideally, the system that would present consequences to the player if they're idle frequently would be the world around them.

Game material will be shown if the game is left idle on the start screen.

---
### Player options

The following images relate to the Settings screen that a player would be presented with in game. The components in these menus are composed of various icons, interactable text and important information for the players such as the manual for gameplay controls.

![](Image to be made)
*Pictured above: Concept for the settings menu in game.*

---
![](Image to be made)
*Pictured above: Concept for the Game Display menu in game.*
___
![](Image to be made)
*Pictured above: Concept for the Controls - Keyboard menu in game.*

---
![](Image to be made)
*Pictured above: Concept for the Controls menu - Wired Controller in game.*

---
![](Image to be made)
*Pictured above: Concept for the Video Settings menu in game.*

---
![](Image to be made)
*Pictured above: Concept for the Audio Settings menu in game.*

---
### Bonus Content

Unlockable bonus content may be rewarded to the player based off their play time, completion of the story or puchasing an expansion. These would be accessed from the title screen & utilised within the in game world.

All unlockable content available to players will be of the following:
```
• Credits (content crediting the development team, with a team photo)
• Concept art of enemies in the game
• Environment art
• Interactable 3D models that will have specific animations that the player can choose to view
• Alternate outfits/unlocked skins from completing playthroughs or challenges
• Cheats allowing the player to increase the difficulty and test their skills along with some fun effects
• Art/sound/animation galleries
• Video player to replay their best playthrough moments

```
---
### Title/start screen

![](Title screen here)
*Pictured above: A Title screen page graphic concepted for the game.*

![](Main menu graphic here)
*Pictured above: A Main Menu graphic concepted for the game.*

The player is presented with all necessary information relating to publishers, involved developers and will be loaded into the main menu screen, which is an animated title screen with a interactive background. The title screen is simplistic, but has one key animated component which is the background. There will be a transition to the title page which will occur when the player clicks the screen or presses any button, triggering a camera zoom through a portal which opens up to a screen, loading the title page.

Once the title page has been viewed, the player is presented with the opportunity to load into a single player run, visit the settings menu or exit the game.

Since the game will star a long story with various quests, the player will require a save file to be managed. Players will be able to save at set locations around the world rather than in a main menu as to increase risk and difficulty.

Players will be able to access a status Log, which will show all of their stats in their most recent playthroughs. These statistics will be based on:

```
-If they have completed the story
-Their last location they saved at
-How many enemies they killed during the playthrough.
-How much damage they received during the playthrough
-How many times they were put into a Downed state (requiring the player to be revived at their last save point)
```
---
### Other screens

In the Bonus Content Screen, the player will be able to view their Battle Log for their playthrough statistics and gameplay breakdown, Unlockable content relating to the previous section and Extra content that the player can browse if interested. The Extra content menu will include:

```
• Trailers for other games/products
• Commentary about the game from game developers
• Team interviews - talking about their favourite build strategies and what enemy they like/dislike to face up against.
• Deleted material - Any content that was concepted but not implemented into the game and why, possibly due to graphics constraints, time and so on.
•Links to developer websites and other available games
• Gag reels
```

---
### Game flowchart

Below is a flow chart showing the different menus and processes that occur when the player reaches a certain menu or interacts with a function on that page.

![](place image made in obisdian)
*Pictured above: Flow chart of the various menus available in the game.*


### World overview/Map
```
Image(s) of world overview screen (if applicable)
List of game levels available on World Overview
Description of how information is presented to player
Details on how player will navigate this screen (cursor, character,
and so on)
Animation (character and/or elements) required for this screen
Sound and music required for level select screen
```
---
### Universal game mechanics
```
- Opening doors
- Opening chests
- picking up items
- purchasing items
- attacking
- dodge rolling
- activation of hidden buttons/levers
- keys for locked doors
- camp sites for saving locations
- travellers tomb (an item you gather to gain access to a map) (reference to studio name)
- breakable pots and boxes
```
---
### Game zones
- The dark forest/swampland
- The Void
- The castle ruins
- Villages
- Abandoned campsites
---
### General enemy rules
```
- skeletons can get back up after death after a set time has passed, however, if the player lands a critical dmg attack the skeleton will not be able to get back up for an indefinet period of time.
```
---
### Bosses
```
Description and image of boss
• Include scale
Call out weak points/attack spots
Interaction with player (will hurt player if collides, only hurt player when in
specific state, and so on)
Movement patterns
• Show metrics in relationship to player
Attack patterns
• Warnings
• Specific attack
—Damage done
—Special effects
• Reactions/damage/death
• Idles
Description of player ’ s experience
• Description of intro/cutscene
• Include number of rounds
• Progression/ramping of action
Description and image of environment
• Hazards and mechanics used
• Power- ups and collectibles found
• Other enemies used in boss fight
How is the boss defeated?
Reward yield
```
---
### Non - player characters
```
NPC type overview (information, mission deliverer, escort/defend,
and so on)
Character list
• Name, sex, age
• Background material
• NPC type
• Level where encountered
Interacting with NPCs
• Dialogue
• Collision
NPC rewards
```
---
### Collectibles/object sets
```
List of items
• Images
• Level(s) found on
• What object or set unlocks (if applicable)
```
---
### Minigames
```
Types of minigames
How are minigames accessed
Player controls
Elements needed/repurposed
Levels encountered

```
---
### Music and SFX
```
- Title screen
- Main Menu
- Loading Screen
- Game Over Screen
- Credits Screen

- Each playable area in the game will also have their respective theme
- Each boss will have their respective theme:

```
---
### Licensor points and concerns Appendixes
```
Player character animation lists
Enemy character animations lists
Sound effects list
Music list
• Level location
Cutscene scripts
• Cutscene storyboards
VO scripts
• Player
• Enemies
• Bosses
• NPC barks
In - game text
• Warning screens
• Tutorial text
• Character dialogue/subtitles
```
---